IRAQ SANCTIONS MONITOR Number 138
Monday, October 16, 2000
LATEST+++++++NEWS++++++LATEST
Riyadh calls for extradition of hijackers
RIYADH, Oct 16 (AFP) - Saudi Interior Minister Prince Nayef bin Abdul Aziz
called on Iraq Monday to extradite the two Saudi hijackers who seized a
Saudi Arabia Airlines Boeing 777 at the weekend.
"We call for the handing over of the two hijackers," who are being held by
the Iraqi authorities, Prince Nayef told a press conference here.
Saudi Arabia and Iraq do not have diplomatic relations, which were broken
off during the Gulf War in 1991 after the invasion of Kuwait by the forces
of Iraqi President Saddam Hussein in August 1990
Hijackers are both Saudi security men: official
RIYADH, Oct 16 (AFP) - The hijackers of an airliner to Iraq are both Saudis
employed in the
security forces who used a service revolver to take over the aircraft,
Interior Minister
Prince Nayef bin Abdul Aziz said Monday.
The two friends "managed to smuggle a revolver aboard the plane which they
used to hijack the aircraft," the prince told a press conference.
They forced the pilot of the Saudi Arabian Airlines flight from Jeddah to
London to land in Baghdad on Saturday.
He named the pair as Faisal Naji al-Balawi, 26, who worked in Jeddah
airport as a security officer, and Ayesh Ali al-Fridi, a border guard in
Najran, in the south of the kingdom.
The first used his position to avoid security checks to carry the revolver
on board the Boeing 777, the minister explained.
"They are friends ... travelled often together on holiday to Britain,
France, Egypt and Morocco," he added.
AL-Fridi had a reputation for "ill-discipline and bad behaviour," the
prince noted.
He ruled out any "political motive" for the hijacking and said they had no
contact with political or foreign parties.
Nayef also praised the "positive" behaviour of the Iraqi authorities who
quickly defused the crisis.
A Gulf source had told AFP on Sunday: "They do not belong to any political
group and were armed only with their revolvers."
Their names figure on the Saudi Arabian Airlines flight's official passenger
list published in Sunday's Arabic newspapers.
The pair surrendered without a fight after forcing the plane to land late
Saturday at Saddam International Airport, leaving all aboard to walk free
unharmed.
But they then told journalists they still had a bomb on the plane, that the
affair was not over and they still wanted to "negotiate".
They called for an inquiry into human rights abuses in Riyadh, slammed the
Riyadh regime as being under US hegemony, and, according to some reports,
requested political asylum.
"I have a detonator in my pocket which I can activate to trigger a bomb
placed on the plane," one of the two, circled by Iraqi police but looking
relaxed, said at the airport.
The other hijacker, concealing part of his face with a scarf, said their aim
was "to demand justice and equality in Saudi Arabia" and called for an
inquiry into alleged corruption and human rights abuses in the kingdom.
They also denounced "the presence of the US and British armies" in Saudi
Arabia, echoing a common theme of anti-Riyadh hostility in Baghdad.
And they voiced solidarity with the sanctions-hit Iraqi people.
The hijackers nonetheless said they had treated the passengers well during
their ordeal, which passengers confirmed.
"We treated them like brothers," one of the two told journalists.
Ersumer says all ready for 1.5 mln bpd Iraqi oil [B]
By BridgeNews Istanbul--Oct. 16--The Turkish government has taken necessary
measures to operate Iraq's twin trans-Turkey pipelines at their full design
capacity of 1.5 million barrels per day (bpd), Energy Minister Cumhur
Ersumer said on Sunday, the Turkish Daily News reported Monday. He, however,
also said the government was observing the recommendations of the United
Nations and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
"We have taken all the necessary measures to run the Kirkuk-Yumurtalik
pipelines 24 hours a day at full capacity, and we will take other measures
too," Ersumer said, as quoted by the daily.
The Turkish government has threatened to permit full capacity usage of the
pipelines by Iraq, if the U.S. Congress passes a bill stating that Ottoman
troops committed genocide on Armenians during the First World War.
The pipelines' current throughput is between 700,000-900,000 bpd, depending
on demand, and the available storage at the pipeline's Ceyhan terminal on
the eastern Mediterranean.
However, Iraq would not be able to increase pumping for about six months,
because it was waiting for delivery of key equipment, sources at the U.N.
Office of the Iraq Program, had said Thursday.
Pumping could be increased to 1.5 million bpd temporarily, a Turkish
pipeline source had said Thursday, but Iraq needs pumps for a key pumping
station knocked out by the Allied air attacks during the 1991 Gulf War.
These were being held up because of the U.N. sanctions policy, the source
said.
The Turkish government was considering a plan to purchase the pumps itself,
and sell them afterwards to Iraq, a senior aide with the state pipeline
agency, Botas, also said Thursday.
Using the pipeline's full capacity would breach the U.N. sanctions policy,
which at present only permits 1 million bpd to pass through them, press
reports have said.
Iran, Iraq agree to re-open files on POWs
>From THE TIMES OF INDIA, October 16th, 2000
TEHRAN: Iran and Iraq have agreed to re-open the files on the controversial
and unresolved question of POWs from their 1980-1988 war, Iranian state
radio said Sunday.
The agreement was struck during the Baghdad visit of Kamal Kharazi, making
the first trip to Iraq by an Iranian foreign minister in a decade, it said.
"Kharazi's request for a re-opening of the POW files, as well as the speedy
return of prisoners to Iran, was one of the main issues
discussed during the trip," it said.
Tehran has repeatedly denied Baghdad's charges that it still holds 29,000
Iraqi prisoners, more than a decade after the end of their brutal 1980-1988
war. Iraq says another 60,000 are missing.
Turkish plane lands in Baghdad
>From THE TIMES OF INDIA, October 16th, 2000
BAGHDAD: A plane carrying aid and trade delegates from Turkey touched down
in Baghdad on Sunday, the fourth solidarity flight from the northern
neighbour in a week, the official INA news agency said.
The delegation would be briefed on the effects of international sanctions
imposed on Iraq after it invaded Kuwait in 1990 and look at "prospects for
broadening cooperation and trade," INA said.
A flight from Turkey had landed in Baghdad on Saturday as part of a campaign
to end a decade-old UN air embargo. Ankara estimates that the sanctions on
Iraq have cost it $35 bn.
This time the West can survive an oil embargo
>From The Sunday Telegraph October 15th, 2000
MICHAEL FIELD argues that, even if Opec states bow to pressure from militant
Arabs, the effect would be nothing like as dramatic as in 1973
The inability of the Arab nations to mount an effective military response to
what they perceive as Israeli aggression leaves them with their most obvious
alternative: economic sanctions. In the next few days there will be calls by
Arab radicals for oil production cuts to be used to force America to adopt a
more even-handed approach to the Middle East. At the time of the last full
scale war with Israel, in 1973, Arab nations cut production. The
Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries (Opec), which has several
non-Arab members, took advantage of the situation to quadruple prices.
However, the international economic climate has changed fundamentally since
then. In those days, the Arabs were in a strong market position. World
demand was rising fast and they were the only countries with spare capacity.
Energy analysts said yesterday that supplies from the Middle East area
appeared secure and that crude prices were unlikely, for the time being, to
bounce much higher after Thursday's surge of almost $3 per barrel to $35.07
. Before the fighting in Israel, the price was hovering at about $30 per
barrel. The markets settled back to $34 per barrel by close of day on
Friday. The big Arab gulf producers, Saudi Arabia, Abu Dhabi and Kuwait,
will resist any pressure to cut back on supplies. These three states have
spare capacity and, although they never say it publicly, they know that
ultimately some of their vast reserves of oil will be left in the ground.
Economists - including Sheikh Yamani, the former Saudi oil minister -
predict that oil demand will peak in 15 or 20 years, partly as a result of
consumers becoming far more efficient in the way they use energy. They
believe that alternative energy resources will mean that the world's oil
reserves will never run out. Saudi Arabia, Abu Dhabi and Kuwait are well
aware that half of the increase in world demand in the past 15 years has
been met by non-Arab and non-Opec forces. They will not want to do anything
now that will encourage this trend.
They cannot afford to appear to be unreliable suppliers and lose future
market share. The Saudi government's need to hold on to market share is
increased by its debts - almost entirely domestic - which are equivalent to
more than 100 per cent of the country's gross domestic product. In the past
10 years, it has become one of the world's most indebted governments. In the
present crisis, the Saudi and Gulf states governments will put as much
diplomatic pressure as they can on the United States but they will not cut
production. The only states in the region that might feel obliged to act are
Iraq and the non-Arab Iran.
The Iranians care deeply about the future of Jerusalem, the third holiest
city in the Muslim world, and feel obliged to help radical political
movements. President Khatami and other moderates at the top of the
government know that Iran has spare capacity and they want to develop the
country's markets. They may, however, be forced to act against Iran's
economic interests by militants within their own political establishment.
Iraq, a pariah even in the Middle East, could be expected to jump at the
opportunity to ingratiate itself with radical Arab elements, even at the
cost of its own shattered economy.
As Opec's fourth-largest producer, it could cause upheaval in world markets.
By halting its exports of crude, it could send prices soaring above $40 a
barrel, oil experts say. Any production cuts, or even threats of cuts, will
push up prices on the international markets. But the amounts of oil traded
here on short-term contracts represent a tiny proportion of world
production. If oil companies replace some of the product that they sell with
more expensive crude, they may have to raise prices - but, in percentage
terms, the increases should not be anything like the rises we could see on
the non-Opec markets.
Iran state TV says embargo on Iraq now finished
TEHRAN, Oct 15 (AFP) - Iranian state television said Sunday that the
international embargo against Iraq was finished following the visit to
Baghdad by Tehran's Foreign Minister Kamal Kharazi.
"The embargo is now shattered," it said in a commentary, adding that Iran
was planning to give "economic aid to the Muslim people of Iraq." Kharazi
flew into Iraq on Friday in defiance of UN sanctions slapped on Baghdad
after its 1990 invasion of Kuwait. Iran opposes the strict sanctions regime,
including the air embargo, but had previously respected it.
Russia and France have been followed by Turkey and Arab countries in
ignoring the flight ban in recent weeks. Moscow and Paris say the embargo
does not include private non-commercial flights.
But Washington and London insist all flights must be approved by the UN
sanctions committee.
Kharazi's visit, expected to end Sunday, is the first trip by an Iranian
foreign minister to Baghdad in a decade as the two sides try to patch up
remaining differences from their 1980-1988 war.
Bahraini Relief Plane to Fly to Iraq
RIYADH (Oct. 15) XINHUA - A Bahraini plane carrying medical
equipment,medicine and food will leave Bahrain Airport for Baghdad next
Tuesday, a report from Manama reaching here said Sunday.
The plane will carry a delegation of 60 Bahraini citizens including
businessmen of the Bahrain Chamber of Commerce and Industry, as well as
members of the Committee for Relief of the Iraqi People, said the report.
The plane is expected to return the same night, the report added. Russia,
France and a number of Arab countries have sent planes to Iraq,defying the
United States and Britain's claim that all flights to
sanctions-stricken Iraq should be approved by the United Nations Sanctions
Committee beforehand.
US warns Saddam Hussein on troop movements
WASHINGTON, Oct 15 (AFP) - US Defense Secretary William Cohen on Sunday
warned Iraqi President Saddam Hussein against taking advantage of unrest in
the Middle East to threaten his neighbours.
Cohen, speaking on CBS television, confirmed that Saddam's elite Republican
Guard had been on the move in Iraq.
"There has been some movement of his Republican Guard to the west of
Baghdad," Cohen told CBS television.
"We follow it very closely and we should forewarn him, as we have, that any
move that he would make to attack his neighbours would be met by a very
strong response from the United States."
Last week a Pentagon official said a brigade-size force of Iraqi troops had
been detected moving to the north and west of the country, adding that it
was not really (cause for) alarm."
The troop movements coincided with fighting between Israelis and
Palestinians and the explosion that killed 17 US sailors in the Yemeni port
of Aden.
Lebanon come back from the dead to draw with Iraq
BEIRUT, Oct 15 (AFP) - Hosts Lebanon kept their hopes alive of making the
next round of the Asian Cup after coming back from two goals down to draw
2-2 with Iraq here on Sunday in their Group A match.
The Lebanese, who were thrashed 4-0 by Iran in the first game, scored
through Abbas Chahrour, a spectacular volley from outside the area, and
playmaker Moussa Hojej's equally stunning freekick in the 80th minute.
Their goals cancelled out a brace from Iraqi striker Sabah Jadir, who gave
the Iraqis a two goal advantage after just 23 minutes.
The point left Iraq in second place on goal difference behind bitter rivals
Iran, who drew 1-1 with Thailand earlier, and set up a mouthwatering head to
head in Saida on Wednesday.
Asian Cup Group A standings
BEIRUT, Oct 15 (AFP) - Asian Cup Group A standings after Sunday's matches
(played, won, drawn, lost, goals for, against, points):
Group A
Iran 2 1 1 0 5 1 4
Iraq 2 1 1 0 4 2 4
Thailand 2 0 1 1 1 3 1
Lebanon 2 0 1 1 2 6 1
Remaining fixtures
Oct 18 - Iran v Iraq
Lebanon v Thailand
Iraqi military spokesman reports US-UK sorties on 14th October
Text of report by Iraqi TV on 14th October
While the struggling Palestinian people are confronting Zionist oppression
in the occupied territories and the Arab masses are rising to carry out
Jihad in support of their Palestinian brothers to liberate Palestine and the
Islamic holy shrines from the invading occupiers, the rulers of Saudi Arabia
and Kuwait continue to offer direct support for US and British planes to
attack Iraq and cause more damage to its patient and struggling people.
In statements to the Iraqi News Agency, a military spokesman for the Air
Defence Command said that at 1400 [1100 gmt] today, US-UK ravens conducted
two hostile sorties from Saudi airspace, and eight sorties from Kuwaiti
airspace. They were backed by an AWACS from inside Saudi airspace. He said
the attacking ravens flew over areas in the governorates of Basra and Dhi
Qar, and then left our airspace back to the bases of treachery in Saudi
Arabia and Kuwait.
The spokesman said that with this attack, the total number of hostile
sorties conducted by the ravens since Conquest Day on 17th December 1998
reaches 13,200 from Saudi airspace and 7,192 sorties from Kuwaiti airspace,
while the overall number of sorties carried out from Saudi, Kuwaiti and
Turkish airspace reaches 25,528.
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